OPTICODEC-PC
GLOSSARY
8-5
bandwidth
The capacity of a network connection, measured in bits or bytes per
second, for carrying data.
BER (bit error rate)
BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)
bit
A single piece of information, with a value of either 0 or 1.
bitrate
The speed at which bits are transmitted on a network, usually expressed in
bits per second.
bitstream
broadcast
Transmitting one copy of a stream over the whole network.
broadcast user
A user who has permission to broadcast to the streaming server.
The broadcast user name and password are set in the General Settings pane of
Streaming Server Admin and are used in conjunction with announced broadcasts. It
is not necessary to create a broadcast user for UDP broadcasts.
browser plug-in
Software that you attach to a browser to enable it to display spe-
cific data formats.
byte
Eight bits.
CCITT (Comite Consultatif Internationale de Telegraphie et Telephonie)
An
international committee based in Geneva, Switzerland, that recommends telecom-
munications standards, including the audio
co
mpression/
dec
ompression standards
(codecs) and the famous V. standards for modem speed and compression (V.90 and
so on). Although this organization changed its name to ITU-T (International Tele-
communications Union-Telecommunication), the old French name lives on.
CCK (Complementary Code Keying)
CDMA
CDMA2000
CDMAone
CDN (Content Delivery Network)
CELP (Code Excited Linear Prediction)
CIFS (Common Internet File System)
formerly SMB
CIR (Committed Information Rate
) When you order a virtual circuit for a service
such as frame relay or ATM, you can specify a guaranteed data rate that you want
the carrier to provide. The data rate is negotiated with the carrier as the CIR (com-
mitted information rate).
When the data rate exceeds the CIR, the network starts dropping packets, so CIR
should be a balance between the minimum and maximum bandwidth requirements.
You can also negotiate a burst rate that lets you exceed the CIR rate to accommo-
date spikes in traffic. The ability to burst depends on whether bandwidth is avail-
able. CIR may also be negotiated as variable over time, so that during busy business
hours more bandwidth is available.
Basically, CIR is the throughput rate that you negotiate with a service provider, and
they will usually attempt to guarantee that rate. One way the carrier guarantees CIR
is by dropping non-CIR traffic.
